"I think we’ll also see, with smarter AI-powered conversations, that marketing will look more like sales over time. Rather than 1:many broadcast, we will have many 1:1 agents selling people over chat/phone/video and providing a truly personalized pitch. We only have marketing because 1:1 sales for everything is too expensive. "
I actually feel the opposite, that sales will look more like marketing. We only have sales because marketing is so non-personalized.
Yes semantics, I think we’re saying the same thing. My point is that both will converge, but the result will look more like what we call sales today since it’ll be interactive, personalized, remember state, etc. Imagine being able to field a team of a million virtual sales companions to sell whatever you want. Mostly we’ll be limited by consumer attention at that point but the first gen of companies will really benefit.
Ecommerce homepage will look very different. Search bars will be replaced by AI agents. Current product selling approach will transition into a consultative or solution-based selling.
This concept of personalized support and service is a natural progression of the luxury shopping experience that can now be democratized. I believe it will be even more impactful when merged with social experiences, like engaging with other shoppers in real-time, gaining social proof, and discussing their live reviews as you make your purchasing decisions—much like the familiar, communal atmosphere of a local store, yet seamlessly integrated into an efficient, digital environment but way better than passive 2D ecommerce. I believe the future of commerce lies in personalized, many-to-many live interactions, moderated and enhanced by AI. This is the innovative vision we've presented to SpeedRun!
Useful stuff. I want to make my self-awareness compass quiz (a 360 degree type assessment that I've built) into an app. I think this helps with considering the pitching and marketing....
The way out isn't A/B testing, it's using qualitative insight to map what's really driving your customer (and this goes waaaaay beyond "jobs to be done."
Like I tell my clients, "Everyone's finally gotten the memo that you need to talk to your customers. But they don't know how and they REALLY don't know what to do with what they hear." It's stunning how much low-hanging fruit I find for them every time. One helpful market tip: cast a wary eye on what (you think) everyone else is doing in your market, especially any "best practices." Typically the blind spot is the spot nobody's looking at.
Great chart. Which quadrant would you put Substack in? I think it’s the top right, combining the best elements of news and communication. Each Substack is its own community and potential distribution channel.
There's a part that begs closer to mass customization: giving the user exactly and only what they need. Also, there is an unfelt desire to "meet them where they are," which is far harder yet more fulfilling. Are we at the point past tickling desire and touching the start of fulfilling needs? Def early stages in the new curve!
Branding / design / creative is the new growth hacking.
With the technical bits increasingly commoditized and automated out-of-the-box (thanks Meta, Google, and GenAI), marketing in the future requires even more touchy feely skills.
Former easy to teach (like analytical skills), but latter more intuitive and "you either get it or not". Just like there's product sense and design taste, there's also marketing sense.
Enjoyed the retro. The marketing meets sales idea is one that perpetuates the narrowing trend of the marketing function over the last 15 years or so, namely that marketing is synonymous with promotion or simply user acquisition.
I tend to think other parts of marketing such as pricing, packaging, branding and as you spotlighted, personalization will be more important than ever.
Re: Tech products are ~trivial to build, and distribution will get harder than ever
^While launching new apps had already become relatively easy before GenAI and GPT, the impact of harder distribution is now amplified by AI that enables players who previously lacked the budget for creating graphic ads or cool posts to now do so, increasing competition in distribution even more.
Thanks for sharing. I agree with your perspective on the Loyalty by Application Category.
I think the laws of start up physics allow a little movement but not a lot unless we completely change our "human operating system" with AI over the next 5-10 years. Possible but not probable.
Didn’t expect a concierge service mentioned in a tech essay. Excited to see where it goes (I’m all about personalisation myself —— accross disciplines and cross-disciplines). More hybrids, please.
Just replicate your Atoimc Network 100K times(the market), with each Atomic network generating $5-10K NOI. Now that's a super platform. Then add Web3 plus responsible Gen AI on mobile for the mainsteream. No one and I mean no one can imagine this dynamic. Even Chris's crypto team.
"While we are unlikely to install new apps, we are willing to follow new creators, or share videos/links/photos. We spend a ton of time on social media, within video apps, and comms/collab products in the workplace."
It's this phenomenon that has given rise to influencer marketing.
A good reminder that your Networth is your Network.
this was an interesting point:
"I think we’ll also see, with smarter AI-powered conversations, that marketing will look more like sales over time. Rather than 1:many broadcast, we will have many 1:1 agents selling people over chat/phone/video and providing a truly personalized pitch. We only have marketing because 1:1 sales for everything is too expensive. "
I actually feel the opposite, that sales will look more like marketing. We only have sales because marketing is so non-personalized.
But maybe its semantics at that point.
Yes semantics, I think we’re saying the same thing. My point is that both will converge, but the result will look more like what we call sales today since it’ll be interactive, personalized, remember state, etc. Imagine being able to field a team of a million virtual sales companions to sell whatever you want. Mostly we’ll be limited by consumer attention at that point but the first gen of companies will really benefit.
Ecommerce homepage will look very different. Search bars will be replaced by AI agents. Current product selling approach will transition into a consultative or solution-based selling.
This concept of personalized support and service is a natural progression of the luxury shopping experience that can now be democratized. I believe it will be even more impactful when merged with social experiences, like engaging with other shoppers in real-time, gaining social proof, and discussing their live reviews as you make your purchasing decisions—much like the familiar, communal atmosphere of a local store, yet seamlessly integrated into an efficient, digital environment but way better than passive 2D ecommerce. I believe the future of commerce lies in personalized, many-to-many live interactions, moderated and enhanced by AI. This is the innovative vision we've presented to SpeedRun!
This is a scam - Please block and remove.
Perfect insights as always 🔥
Useful stuff. I want to make my self-awareness compass quiz (a 360 degree type assessment that I've built) into an app. I think this helps with considering the pitching and marketing....
Thanks. I’ll look into it!!!
The way out isn't A/B testing, it's using qualitative insight to map what's really driving your customer (and this goes waaaaay beyond "jobs to be done."
Like I tell my clients, "Everyone's finally gotten the memo that you need to talk to your customers. But they don't know how and they REALLY don't know what to do with what they hear." It's stunning how much low-hanging fruit I find for them every time. One helpful market tip: cast a wary eye on what (you think) everyone else is doing in your market, especially any "best practices." Typically the blind spot is the spot nobody's looking at.
Great chart. Which quadrant would you put Substack in? I think it’s the top right, combining the best elements of news and communication. Each Substack is its own community and potential distribution channel.
There's a part that begs closer to mass customization: giving the user exactly and only what they need. Also, there is an unfelt desire to "meet them where they are," which is far harder yet more fulfilling. Are we at the point past tickling desire and touching the start of fulfilling needs? Def early stages in the new curve!
oh, that's so true with current sales and marketing trends both b2b and b2c.
Branding / design / creative is the new growth hacking.
With the technical bits increasingly commoditized and automated out-of-the-box (thanks Meta, Google, and GenAI), marketing in the future requires even more touchy feely skills.
Former easy to teach (like analytical skills), but latter more intuitive and "you either get it or not". Just like there's product sense and design taste, there's also marketing sense.
Spot-on observations, as expected!
Enjoyed the retro. The marketing meets sales idea is one that perpetuates the narrowing trend of the marketing function over the last 15 years or so, namely that marketing is synonymous with promotion or simply user acquisition.
I tend to think other parts of marketing such as pricing, packaging, branding and as you spotlighted, personalization will be more important than ever.
This was a fascinating retro of the last 10 years in Growth Marketing. It so interesting to see how much has changed since the mid 2010s.
Re: Tech products are ~trivial to build, and distribution will get harder than ever
^While launching new apps had already become relatively easy before GenAI and GPT, the impact of harder distribution is now amplified by AI that enables players who previously lacked the budget for creating graphic ads or cool posts to now do so, increasing competition in distribution even more.
Thanks for sharing. I agree with your perspective on the Loyalty by Application Category.
I think the laws of start up physics allow a little movement but not a lot unless we completely change our "human operating system" with AI over the next 5-10 years. Possible but not probable.
Didn’t expect a concierge service mentioned in a tech essay. Excited to see where it goes (I’m all about personalisation myself —— accross disciplines and cross-disciplines). More hybrids, please.
Just replicate your Atoimc Network 100K times(the market), with each Atomic network generating $5-10K NOI. Now that's a super platform. Then add Web3 plus responsible Gen AI on mobile for the mainsteream. No one and I mean no one can imagine this dynamic. Even Chris's crypto team.
Send me your personal email.
I agree and see this happening:
"While we are unlikely to install new apps, we are willing to follow new creators, or share videos/links/photos. We spend a ton of time on social media, within video apps, and comms/collab products in the workplace."
It's this phenomenon that has given rise to influencer marketing.
A good reminder that your Networth is your Network.